The Ineffectiveness of Graham Gano
Graham Gano has been one of the top kickers in the NFL over the past two seasons. However, the past two weeks have been a completely different story.
In the 20-19 loss to Detroit in Week 11, Gano missed a 34-yard field goal and an extra point. And in Sunday’s loss to Seattle, he missed a 52-yard field goal that would have given the Panthers a three-point lead with under two minutes remaining.
Gano deserves a lot of credit for how he has kicked the ball in 2017 and 2018. But he also deserves to be called out when he fails to do his job two weeks in a row. One game is perhaps forgivable, but missing big kicks two weeks in a row in the midst of a playoff push is simply unacceptable.
The Panthers needed to win both games, but instead suffered a pair of disappointing losses. Gano was a major reason why, and he needs to find himself if Carolina is to have any chance of playing in January.